Supreme Court permits BCCI to release funds for Rajkot Test

The Board had moved the SC, stating there were no funds to conduct the India-England Test series, beginning on November 9. The BCCI said unless the Lodha panel cleared the funds, it won't be possible to go ahead with the Test series.

The Board approached Justice Dave's Bench as Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur is heading a Constitution Bench. Justice Dave’s Bench announced the judgement after consultation with the Chief Justice.

Much to the relief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to release an amount of Rs 58.66 lakh from the Board’s account ahead of the first Test match against England in Rajkot.

The Supreme Court instructed the BCCI to directly pay the third party contractors involved in the hosting of the Test match, and not to the host, Saurashtra Cricket Association. The Board was further ordered to furnish details of accounts to the Justice Lodha Committee.

The Supreme Court has also advised the Lodha Committee to appoint administrative and secretarial staff to dispense the contractual obligations of the BCCI.

READ: >BCCI moves SC to release funds ahead of England Test

The Board, earlier in the day, had moved the SC, stating there were no funds to conduct the India-England Test series beginning on November 9. The BCCI said that unless the Lodha panel cleared the funds, it won't be possible to go ahead with the Test series.

The Board approached Justice Dave's Bench, as the Chief Justice of India, T.S. Thakur, is heading a Constitution Bench. Justice Dave’s Bench announced the judgement after consulting the Chief Justice.

The new move on the eve of the series comes despite the Supreme Court concluding in a 21-page judgment that the BCCI's top administrators, including its president and BJP MP Anurag Thakur, were an impediment to Justice R. M. Lodha Committee's efforts to reform Indian cricket.

More to follow…